Programs Focused on Diversifying Medical Pipeline

Lawsuit: University of Dayton Covered Up Football Team Hazing Claims

by Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio — A new lawsuit claims the University of Dayton covered up allegations of hazing connected to the school’s football team by ensuring that a UD police investigation never reached local officials. Max Engelhart, a former UD student and offensive lineman, filed the lawsuit against the western Ohio school, its football coach and others […]

Woman Guilty of Embezzling $200,000 from Education Nonprofit

by Associated Press

EUGENE, Ore. — A Eugene woman has pleaded guilty to embezzling over $200,000 from a nonprofit that promotes career and technical education programs for Oregon high school and community college students. The Register-Guard reports 74-year-old Thelma Clemons pleaded guilty to wire fraud Wednesday related to her attempt to cover up thefts that she carried out […]

Report: Housing, Food Insecurities on Rise for Community College Students

Audit Questions Luna Community College Hiring, Pay

by Associated Press

LAS VEGAS, N.M. ― A recently completed special audit of a Las Vegas, New Mexico, community college is questioning the schools hiring practices. The Las Vegas Optic reports that according to the report there were multiple instances of family members of the Luna Community College president and board members receiving jobs, promotions and substantial pay […]

Ex-Wichita State University Worker Files Discrimination Suit

by Associated Press

WICHITA, Kan. ― A former Wichita State University administrative assistant filed a federal lawsuit accusing the university of discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Vicki Huntoon said in the lawsuit that she was fired from the university because of her generalized anxiety disorder after two doctors diagnosed the disorder and she requested to work […]

University of Illinois Strengthening Ties with Mexico

by Associated Press

URBANA, Ill. — The University of Illinois is strengthening its ties with Mexico through new academic and research partnerships. The (Champaign) News-Gazette reports university President Tim Killeen signed agreements during a trip to Mexico last week. He says they are part of the university’s efforts to diversify international student enrollment and increase its global impact. […]

University of Akron Calling for Buyouts, Recruitment Boost

by Associated Press

AKRON, Ohio —The University of Akron plans to offer voluntary buyouts to employees, increase recruiting efforts of international students and restructure its scholarship system to address a looming deficit and declining enrollment. University of Akron President Matt Wilson outlined a two-year plan last week to shore up the school’s finances. The university hopes to finalize […]

Lawsuit: University of Dayton Covered Up Football Team Hazing Claims

by Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio — A new lawsuit claims the University of Dayton covered up allegations of hazing connected to the school’s football team by ensuring that a UD police investigation never reached local officials. Max Engelhart, a former UD student and offensive lineman, filed the lawsuit against the western Ohio school, its football coach and others […]

Saint Augustine’s University, Bennett College on Probation

by Reginald Stuart

Two of the nation’s oldest historically Black colleges were placed on probation Tuesday by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), signaling the two North Carolina institutions continue to battle financial challenges.

Protests Bring Out Angry Millennials in Chicago

Arkansas School of Law Dean Ever Mindful of Native American Heritage, Mentoring

by Christina Sturdivant

When Stacy Leeds accepted the position of dean at the University of Arkansas School of Law, she made history. Since 2011, she’s served as the only known Native American woman to lead a law school in the country.

Guiyou Huang Named LSU-Alexandria Chancellor

by Associated Press

BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana State University-Alexandria has a new chancellor. LSU President F. King Alexander announced in a news release Tuesday Guiyou Huang will take over the chancellor’s post on Jan. 1. Huang is currently the senior vice president for academic affairs, dean of the faculty and professor of English at Norwich University, in […]

Protests Bring Out Angry Millennials in Chicago

Virginia Tech President Wants to Double Minority Enrollments

by Associated Press

BLACKSBURG, Va. ― Virginia Tech President Timothy Sands is calling on the university to double its enrollment of underrepresented minority groups over the next six years. The Roanoke Times reports that currently, about 12 percent of Tech’s students are Black, Hispanic or of Pacific Islander descent. Sands said during a board of visitors meeting Monday […]

Oregonian Analysis: State College Enrollment Diversifies

by Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. — The number of Latino and multiracial students attending Oregon’s public universities has more than doubled in the past seven years, according to an analysis of enrollment records by a Portland newspaper. The state’s public universities collectively saw enrollment rise 5 percent from 2010 to 2016, largely because of an influx of minority […]

University of Illinois Strengthening Ties with Mexico

by Associated Press

URBANA, Ill. — The University of Illinois is strengthening its ties with Mexico through new academic and research partnerships. The (Champaign) News-Gazette reports university President Tim Killeen signed agreements during a trip to Mexico last week. He says they are part of the university’s efforts to diversify international student enrollment and increase its global impact. […]

Diverse Conversations: What Professor Esolen Gets Right About Diversity

by Matthew Lynch

History professor Anthony Esolen recently came under fire when he penned an article for Crisis magazine that questioned the push for diversity at his workplace: Catholic institution Providence College.

Texas Program ‘Guarantees’ Technical Jobs After Graduation

Regents Name Richard Myers New Kansas State President

by John Hanna, Associated Press

MANHATTAN, Kan. — The Kansas Board of Regents on Tuesday made Richard Myers, a retired four-star general and former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, president at Kansas State University, promoting him after he served as interim president since April. The regents voted unanimously to promote Myers to president of the land-grant university in Manhattan, which […]

A female professor who was passed over as chair of the School of Mass Communication can pursue a retaliation claim against North Carolina Central University but not claims for sex discrimination or a hostile work environment.

Experts: Equipping Students With Questions Is Next Best Thing to Stricter Regulations of For-profit Institutions

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In light of weak federal regulations and lackluster completion rates at for-profit colleges, students should be armed with the kind of questions they need to ask to make sure the colleges deliver on what they promise.

That’s one of the main points that higher education experts made Monday at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s 2012 Young Latino Leaders Summit during a panel discussion titled “Latinos in Private For-Profit Institutions and College Completion.”

“I think the for-profit sector definitely has a role in getting us to where we need to get as a nation,” said Jose Cruz, Vice President for Higher Education Policy and Practice at the Education Trust, a D.C.-based group that advocates for closing the achievement gap, in reference to the Obama Administration’s college completion agenda of making the United States the most college-educated nation in the world.

“But they need to step up to the plate and fulfill the promise,” Cruz said of the for-profits. “Basically what they are selling students is access to careers, and then they’re not delivering.”

Black, Hispanic, Asian or American Indian students accounted for nearly 40 percent of total enrollment at for-profit schools in 2007, but only 31 percent and 25 percent of enrollment in public and private non-profit institutions, respectively, according to a new Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute white paper released at the event and titled “Recruiting the Growing Minority: Latino Enrollment Practices in For-Profit Colleges and Universities.”

The paper – written by 2011-2012 CHCI Higher Education Graduate Fellow Enrique Soto – also notes that Hispanics at for-profits completed their degrees at a rate of 25 percent, versus 60 percent at private nonprofits and 46 percent at public institutions.

In light of the disproportionately high enrollment and low completion rates for minority students at the for-profits, which charge a much higher tuition than their non-profit and public counterparts, Cruz suggested that minority students who are thinking about enrolling in a for-profit college should ask:

n What is the school’s graduation rate, particularly for low-income students and students of color?

n How long it takes to take the average student to complete a program?

n What percentage of students find jobs in their field of study?

n How much do graduates earn during their first year of employment?

n How much will their education cost in total?

n What will the total loan burden be after graduation?

n How many students default on their loans?

In some ways, these are the kinds of things that the so-called “gainful employment” rule is or was supposed to get at, but critics have said the rule – which will be based on metrics for the 2012-2014 school years – is much weaker than what was initially proposed.

Under the rule, a higher education program would be considered to lead to gainful employment only if:

n At least 35 percent of former students are repaying their loans, which can mean reducing their loan balance by at least $1; or

n If the estimated annual loan payment of a typical graduate does not exceed 30 percent of his or her discretionary income; or

n If the estimated annual loan payment of a typical graduate does not exceed 12 percent of his or her total earnings, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

While the rule applies to occupational training programs at all types of institutions, it is aimed primarily at for-profit programs, which the Education Department says are “most likely to leave their students with unaffordable debts and poor employment prospects.”

Cruz said arming students with questions such as the ones he suggested is the next best thing to stricter regulations and could help get the for-profit institutions to “do the right thing.”

“If we empower the students to ask these questions and not simply sign on the dotted line, I think that we will be driving behavior at these institutions in the right direction,” Cruz said.

Eduardo M. Ochoa, Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education, said the Administration is currently developing a new “scorecard” that gets at the questions suggested by Cruz.

“We’re going to make it even better in later versions,” Ochoa said. “But the one coming out of the gate will give an eye for institution’s graduation rates, default rates, net costs and average debt loans.”

Beth Stein, Chief Investigations Counsel for the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee, which has been scrutinizing for-profits in recent years, shared some of the data on for-profits that shows that “even though they charge very high tuition, there is very little investment in the education side of the equation.” Specifically, according to one slide she presented, for-profit institutions spent 60 percent of their money in 2010 on profit and marketing.

“One of the things that really struck us was that while for-profits really pride themselves on enrolling Latinos and other students with a high number of risk factors, they do very little to actually provide the services those students need to be successful,” Stein said, noting that one particular for-profit higher education company had hired one career placement specialist but 1,700 recruiters.

Marcela Iglesias, Campus Dean at the Sacramento Campus of DeVry University, said if the for-profit college industry is to be more heavily regulated, the metrics must take into account the unique circumstances of the schools, which serve students with a higher number of risk factors.

Among other things, she suggested that metrics be “risk-adjusted” to the students that schools serve.

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